This invention relates to devices for recycling can and containers, and more particularly relates to a device which can both crush aluminum and metal cans and cut plastic containers to facilitate their efficient storage, disposal and recycling.
With concern for the protection and preservation of the environment a prominent and vital issue in this country--as well as throughout the world--and recycling procedures being implemented in communities nationwide, various machines and devices, for both large-scale industrial use and also small-scale home use, have been invented for the collection, treatment, disposal, and recycling of the numerous waste materials, refuse, and by-products of contemporary industrial, technological society. Material that cannot be recycled must be disposed of by incineration or burial in landfills. Each method has its drawbacks: incineration discharges toxic chemicals and noisome fumes and gases into the air; landfills are visually repugnant and can be breeding grounds for various diseases even if properly managed. In addition, material dumped into the landfills can leak or spill heavy metals and carcinogenic chemicals into aquifers and nearby streams and lakes. Some of the material is not bio-degradable and, with available landfills rapidly filling up, the procedure whereby new landfills are approved is bureaucratically cumbersome and often vigorously opposed by communities located near such potential landfill sites. Nevertheless, for material that cannot be recycled, landfills will remain the final depository for much of society's waste, trash, and refuse.
Therefore, easy-to-operate devices that can help the typical homeowner and business operator dispose of and recycle material will aid in the conservation and reuse of our resources and enhance the protection of the environment. Among the most common consumer items found in every home and variously-sized aluminum and metal cans and plastic containers. If each homeowner in a given community discards these items into the trash uncompacted and uncompressed, the aggregate mass of the items deposited into that community's landfill will soon lead to its premature filling. However, a device which can compress and crush cans and slice containers into smaller pieces will reduce their "eco-mass" or volume and thereby, over the long term, considerably extend the life of the landfill. In addition, the recesses, folds, crevices, and hollow areas of uncompacted, uncompressed cans and containers, or partially compressed cans or containers, are fertile breeding places for the larvae of numerous egg-laying insects and for disease-transmitting bacteria, yeasts, and molds. Compaction and compression of cans and cutting containers to greatly reduce their original bulk or mass by a recycling device will reduce the available size and area of such items and thus eliminate the parts or portions thereof that would collect water and refuse to serve as the breeding grounds for a variety of dangerous diseases. Also aluminum is one hundred percent recyclable and, therefore, it is vital that this resource should be re-used and not wasted.
A number of different devices have been employed to compact and crush cans and like items. One such device is illustrated by the Bailey patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,768. The Bailey patent includes a base and a lever with a handle portion extending therefrom, the lever being pivotally connected to the base for permitting pivotal movement of the lever. The base has an inclined recess to receive one portion of a can while the lever has an annular recess to receive the other portion of the can. The can is placed in the base recess and a forceful downward pivoting movement of the handle causes the lever recess to engage the can and partially crush it. The can is then placed between base and lever rear pivot portions adjacent the pivoting connection for further crushing and compaction. p A more recent device for crushing metal containers is illustrated by the Stacey, Jr. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,502. The Stacey, Jr. patent includes a base member and an arm pivoted to the base member by a hinge means, the arm further supporting a compact member and a dent member. The dent member crushes the center portion of the container and the compact member and a lip member engage and crush one end of the container as part of a three-step operation.
The Burns, Jr. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,594, discloses a bottle saw system to cut uncontaminated portions from plastic bottles, specifically, the unlabeled upper portion or the base cup of the bottle before it is adhesively applied to the upper portion. The device includes a support system whereby the plastic bottles are held between moving belts and transported by a rotary saw blade for cutting off the contaminated portion. The upper portions of the bottles are flattened but not substantially reduced to a compressed or compact mass.
While the aforedescribed devices are adapted to crush cans or cut portions of a plastic bottle, there remains a need for a device that is adapted for crushing cans and cutting plastic containers to reduce their inherent bulk or "eco-mass" in order to achieve efficient storage, disposal, and recycling. In addition, a device or apparatus which can perform both of these functions, and yet is lightweight, durable, and easily stored on a kitchen counter or shelf, will be commercially marketable and desirable over devices with more limited functions.